SianaBanana 's Knitting and Crochet

Happy Birthday To Me :)

2010-05-11T18:39:00.003+01:00

It was my birthday the other day, and I have just received my birthday present from my lovely sister.

Look how clever she is :)

You can visit her blog on - http://postcards-and-stuff.blogspot.com/

Thanks a million Carol, they look great.

The Feelgood - Cabled Slouch Beanie

2009-10-21T19:01:00.002+01:00

Hi all, Long time no update!!

I have been busy knitting. I had a lovely customer ask for a cabled slouch beanie, so I came up with this....

I called it the Feelgood and patterned it up for sale on Ravelry.

It is also available via SnowHats pre made - SnowHats Snowboard Beanies

I knitted it using Hayfield Bonus DK, using two strands held together as one. I am a big fan of some value DK and rather use the yarn in this way, rather than pay for more expensive thicker yarn.

How much do i LOVE Clover Pom Pom Makers?

2009-08-02T16:42:00.007+01:00

...... Very much, they are awesome.

Here are some examples of bobbles i have made with them. The pink ones are 65mm and the multi coloured one is 85mm. These are the perfect hat size pom poms, and they both come together in the pack. I am tempted however to purchase the smaller size ones also, as i could add them as decoration to my hats.

They are super easy to use.

Simply wind the yarn around 2 of the legs

continue to wind the yarn around the other 2 legs

Wind the yarn until its approximately flush with the guide on the end of the feet.

Cut the yarn, close up the pom pom maker tighly and cut around the rim.

Cut a length of yarn and secure the pom pom by threading the yarn through the space between the blue disks.

Gently, pull the two sides apart.

Finally, trim any odd ends from the pom pom .
As you can see from this picture, the pom pom maker is ver neet and requires little trimming to make a perfectly round pom pom.

I bought the two pom pom makers from ebay for £6.25 including postage. I think they are well worth the cost.

YeeHaw

2009-07-18T23:02:00.003+01:00

I made the YeeHaw hat from the Stitch 'n Bitch happy hookers book. Well I attempted to make it following the pattern from the book.

I don't usually follow a pattern as I just like to do my own thing, but this pattern in my opinion was very bad. Mistakes a plenty. It was a real shame, as its one of the main patterns used to advertise the book.

From this experience, I don't think I would bother with any Stitch n Bitch patterns in the future, as this one was clearly not test made to trial the pattern.

The pattern really goes wrong in the first few rows, so I tried and tried to work it out, but I couldn't. I ripped it back to the beginning and made my interpretation of the pattern.

I made the initial chain longer so the body of the hat would be longer.
I changed the increases.
I worked most of the hat in the round rather than joining at the end of the rows.
I added extra rows for depth and width.
I changed the increases for the brim as the increases indicated made the brim go hyperbolic!

I think it turned out well in the end, but I had to make up the pattern for myself. Luckily, I'm getting quite good at that now :p

Mouse Eared Hat

2009-07-18T22:58:00.004+01:00

A new hat to update you all on - The Mouse Eared Beanie

On my first attempt, I stupidly cut the pieces out with the stretch of the fabric going vertically rather than horizontally. Thankfully, I recut the pieces and all is now well.

Isn't she the cutest?

I need to go shopping now for more fleece colours.

Ikea Bags like Mine

2009-06-29T22:53:00.002+01:00

I have to just leave a message to direct you all to verypurplestuffs.blogspot.com.

I noticed that Novita is also making simmilar bags to what I have made recently.

I just love the colours. Go take a look.

New Hand Bag

2009-06-27T12:47:00.005+01:00

After making my last bag, I wanted to make a hanbag size bag.

Here is what I made.

It has a single strap and a magnetic clasp to close the top.

After my mistake with my last bag, I didnt bother adding an inside pocket.

The Pacer - Beanie, Ear Flap & Visor

2009-06-20T16:13:00.015+01:00

The Pacer Beanie (optional Ear Flaps & Visor)

available from www.SnowHats.co.uk

UPDATE: Pattern is now available from http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-pacer-beanie---ear-flap--visor

This is a brand new design i created. This hat is available for custom hat design from http://www.snowhats.co.uk/ where you are able to choose your own colours and add extras, like ear flaps and a visor.

Made for winter sports (snowboard, ski) or just for fasion.

Charlie Shopping Bag

2009-06-20T15:41:00.006+01:00

I made the charlie bag today. The Original Tutorial for this is not a lined bag, so i decided to follow this Lined Tutorial to add the lining.

I wanted to add ziped pocket to the bag, so followed this tutorial to help me add a zip. Except i made a crucial error, and sewed the pocket lining to the wrong side of the bag lining. So i had to ad lib a bit to sort it out.

I am really pleased with this bag and its going to be roomy enough for all the things i need to carry around :)

Cusom Made Beanies

2009-04-29T20:47:00.007+01:00

These are my recently made custom made beanies/hats.

A thin beanie, with a loose stitch. This was requested by a snowboarder with a hot head.

Decorated with a light blue trim. This hat is thin and light and perfect for spring skiing and snowboarding.

Deerstalker type hat. Decorated with hand made buttons :)

This hat is a real cutie and would be nice and warm for the winer.

The bright colours would really stand out from the crowd.

Also the type of yarn that is used has a slight glitter about it.

This is another version of the Chunky Cabled Ear Flapper, as requested by a customer.

Having run out of the chunky wool I was using, i have re-patterned the design to suit 3 strands of DK. If anyone is interested in this pattern, i could pattern this up for sale on Ravelry.

My first attempt at a semi fleece lined beanie. It is real cute and cuddly.

The fleece is only around the ear level, so your head wont get too toasty, but your ears will be defended from the nasty wind.

I have a few more fleece lined hats in the pipeline, so check back.

Lastly, a shot from my last trip.

Pattern for Chunky Cabled Ear Flapper - Published on Ravelry

2009-02-26T23:25:00.004Z

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/chunky-cabled-ear-flapper

By popular demand, I have published the pattern for the Chunky Cabled Ear Flapper on Ravelry.

New Knitting Bin

2009-02-26T23:05:00.007Z

I am so pleased with my most recent purchase, that i really had to tell you all about it.

I have been needing a bigger recepticle for my yarn of late, as i mostly knit or crochet in double which means i need 2 balls of wool at a time. And especially doing colour work, i then need even more at a time. My knitting bagasket that my sister made me is great but i need to hold more volume when sitting in front of the TV crocheting :)

So i wanted a basket or a box to put beside my chair.

I found this online - good old ikea. The Viren Waste Bin from Ikea - Advertised as a bathroom bin, it has a hole in the lid ? why -

Well for me this means i dont have to cut a hole in it.

It can happily hold 6 x 100g of wool and allow me to poke the working yarn through the hole, and work with the lid on :)

Now my living room is a little tidyer and it cost me less than £3!!

On to recent creations.... Some hats for the winter sports mentalists - Snowboard or Ski

I am such a busy bee at the moment, i have so many ideas and things i want to do that i really cant fit them all in, but i want to complete them all now!!!!

I am busy trying to sort out a custom ordering section for my site www.SnowHats.co.uk while trying to make some stock hats to demonstrate all the custom possibilities.

3 New Hats Complete

2009-01-20T23:11:00.005Z

I have Knitted 2 more Chunky Cabled Ear Flap Hats, one of which has sold already (actually, it had sold before I had even knitted it). The other is now in stock on the site.

The other hat i made over the weekend is the Snowboard Mohawk Beanie Ear Flap Hat. This was to replace the stock on the site, as I have sold 2 of these so far.

As for what else im doing, I have a list of things to do really. I have some ear flaps to add to my other half's beanie, as he found that he really wanted when we were on hols last. Also, I did start out trying to pattern up my Aran weight Cabled Ear Flap Hat, but i realised 30 rows in, that I really dont have the correct weight yarn to do this right now. So until I do, i think i might start on a DK weight version.

Back from Andorra

2009-01-14T19:48:00.009Z

Well Im back in one peice - Just about. Only had 2 misshaps. One involving a big bruise on my hip - that is to be expected, and the other inolving me using my face as a break :)

Other than that, I am in good condition now, and I had a great time.

I returned home to find that SnowHats.co.uk had made 2 sales whilst I was gone. The the New Cream Chunky Cabled Ear Flapper and the Snowboarder Mohawk Ear Flapper Hat.

Also, I have had a lovely lady from Ravelry test knitting my Chunky Cabled Ear Flapper Pattern.

She has almoast finished the test knit which uncovered a few minor typos in the pattern.

So just to leave you with a few pics of Andorra.

How Deep is this snow!!!

The view from the chair lift

Me In my Chunky Cabled Ear Flapper

Another Day another Hat

Chunky Cabled EarFlapper

2009-01-02T20:13:00.003Z

Chunky Cabled Ear Flapper - SnowHats.co.uk
(Suitable for Snowboarders and skiers, or cuteness)

I bought this wonderfully soft chunky yarn, 80% polyacrylic 20% superwash wool, and I thought this would be the ideal yarn for this project.

So I knitted up a chunky yarn version of my Cabled Ear Flapper.

It worked wonderfully, so much so, the first one I made, Im keeping for myself.

I wrote up the pattern and I have it ready in PDF format. Im just waiting for Ravelry to hook me up with a PDF download.

I have enough of this lovely chunky soft yarn to make atleast 2 more.

So this second one I have made is already listed on SnowHats.co.uk.

So you can either buy one ready made, or the pattern. You decide :)

Ps. 2 days to go till snowboarding

Nadolig Llawen

2008-12-24T23:25:00.012Z

This is what I will be doing in a week and a half. On real snow and hopefully a little better than in this video!!

Getting made redundant straight after coming back from my last trip really put a downer on it. I kind of forgot I had been, but looking back now, the whole situation was not that bad.

I got a new job within a week of looking and it has turned out to be really good.

The trip to Tignes was ace, snowboarding on empty pistes. The place we stayed was so nice and welcoming. It felt like I was staying with friends.

Whilst thinking about the next snowboard trip, I have been trying to think of new hats to make for http://www.snowhats.co.uk/ .

The Mohawk I made turned out to be quite popular. It sold really quickly and I had a request from someone else to buy it also.

I wanted to make a girly version, so here is what i came up with.

Isnt she cute!! :) - The PigTail Beanie

Also.... I recently made this hat by request. The person who its for, accidentally lost her original hat and wanted a new one to replace it.

As I made it, I wrote down the pattern and I am thinking of publishing it on http://www.ravelry.com/.

Well thats enough talk from me for now.

Its 3 mins to xmas, and I think I should say Nadolig Llaween a Blwyddyn Newydd Da.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. :)

SnowHats.co.uk

2008-11-17T18:55:00.005Z

The reason for being quiet recently.

I have launched my new site www.snowhats.co.uk . I am selling my custom made hats for snowboarders and skiers, or just for keeping you warm in the winter.

Also, I will list my jewelry that i create here for purchase.

I have decided to offer Free world wide delivery (as long as the post office will post it to the country).

So if you want a custom made snowboarding hat, take a look.

Freeform Crochet Necklace - Bottle Top Necklace

2008-10-27T18:46:00.004Z

I have been wanting to make a 3d necklace for some time and have looked at what others have done for some inspiration. I see many others either use cork/poly balls or even large glass beads and crochet over them.

I really didnt want to buy something like that to crochet over, or even hide nice glass beads under crochet. So I have been thinking about what i could upcycle for this purpose.

This is what i came up with.

Crochet in camo coloured cotton - over bottle tops!

Im not sure what i think, but i do think its different!

Update

2008-10-24T19:01:00.008+01:00

Hi
I meant to update the blog with photos of my trip to Tignes. But the day i arrived back in work, i found out i had been made redundant. Bummer. So was a bit down in the dumps, and i havent really looked at the holiday pics or vids.

But I finally picked myself out of my :( feeling, and I have managed to land my self 2 job offers. I have the weekend to decide now :Z

But over this time, i have been busy, so here are a few shots of what I have done.

Yellow and Green Ladies Beanie

White Blue and Orange Earflapper (Unisex)

Mauve and Teal Mens (Large) Beanie

My Little Inga

Baby Heart Hat

Tri Coloured Crochet Hat

Purple Slouch

And my personal favourite

Green and Teal Earflapper

More photos of all in my flicker account.

Un Named Bag - HELP?!

2008-09-25T14:50:00.008+01:00

I have been making this bag for a few weeks now.

The bag itself took very little time. It is lined inside with green lining and interfaced for stiffness. The outer lining is a satin kind of fabric. I made up the shape as I went along and followed no patterns.

But the handles!!! omg. Its made from leatherette and is quite soft. Trying to topstitch the bag handles was a nightmare. I bought a special roller foot for my machine, but the feed dogs would just chew the under layer. The top layer looked good, I turned it over, and It was all scuffed.

I was so annoyed, as the topstitching was the last job and I had done the rest really neatly. I have had to unpicked these handles and re do twice!!

Finally I decided i would sew some of the lining on to the leatherette - thats the green you can see. Then cut out the handles, and turn inside out. I then finally hand stitched around too keep both sides together.

I am not really happy with the finish. I really would have liked to topstitch around the top of the bag. But i am just so scared of scuffing it again and ruining it.

Any one have any ideas how i could have made sewing this easier?

Anyway, I think the bag deserves a name, any suggestions?

About Me

2008-09-20T11:02:00.003+01:00

Hi,

I just wanted to up date on what I am up to and what Im about to do.

I have been itching to get my hands on a N95 phone. My other half has had one for some time, and normally I am not a geeky phone person. I usually like to just have a phone to be a phone. But, this phone does so much, I just wanted one. I can now find my way places with the sat nav, not just in the car, but when I get lost shopping etc!! And i can sportstracker my snowboarding holiday!! so I can see just how slow I am!!

Whilst traveling up to Tamworth Snowdome for a pre holiday warm up, i knitted a little sock for my new companion!

We are off to Tignes, France in under a week, and I cant wait.

My ABCs

2008-09-20T10:45:00.003+01:00

I saw this on Random Snapshots site, and thought maybe anyone reading would like to get to knwo me a bit better.

A. Attached or single? Attached.
B. Best friend? Appart from the attatched? not at the moment.
C. Cake or pie? Pie i think
D. Day of choice? Thursday
E. Essential item? A project on the go. After that, the computer
F. Favorite colour? Not sure, pink?
G. Gummy bears or worms? Worms
H. Hometown? Treorchy, Rhondda, South Wales, UK
I. Favorite indulgence? Toms pie for dinner once a week
J. January or July? January, maybe I'll get to see some snow.
K. Kids? Only on the weekend
L. Life isn’t complete without? My other half, we are best buddies
N. Number of magazine subscriptions: None, I dont read, I only look at pictures!!
P. Phobias? Maybe flappy insects, moths and wasps. My wimpness has developed recently.
Q. Quotes? um....
S. Season of choice? Winter for snowboarding
W. Worst habit? Biting nails, its worse than smoking.
X. X-ray or ultrasound? Ultrasound as i have never had one.
Y. Your favorite foods? Anything with gravy
Z. Zodiac sign? Taurus

Kitten Ear Hat - With ear flaps

2008-09-20T10:22:00.006+01:00

The Kitten - With Ear Flaps.

Ideal snowboarding/skiing hat. Nice and snug to stay on but cute as hell. Added bonus, it covers your ears to keep out the chill.

What do you guys think?

Buy Online

Pink Hand Warmers - Get ready for winter

2008-09-20T10:16:00.003+01:00

I decided to knit some hand warmers in the pink yarn I used to make the beret. I like them, they look great together.

Ideal for keeping you little mits toasty whilst cool in the current climate!

Available Here

I seem to be doing a good bit of knitting at the moment. I feel like im neglecting crochet!

Chunky Cabled Beanie

2008-09-10T20:23:00.004+01:00

This is my first cabled item :) I am quite pleased with it. I think i will be trying out more cabled ideas :)

Available on ETSY

Abacus Beaded Crochet Cuff - And Aldi Bargain

2008-09-10T19:22:00.008+01:00

I had a vision last night, of what to do next with my chunky seed beads and new chunky cotton.

The Abacus Beaded Crochet Cuff. Made from Chunky mercerized cotton and large seed beeds. It is quite comfy to wear and very interesting.

Its available now on ETSY.

Lastly, I must say a big thank you to GlittyKnittyKnitty
for letting me know via her blog, about a ALDI bargain. I got 6 large knitting needles for £2.99 (a pound more expensive than glitty, but i dont mind). Since i have been knitting some chunky hats recently, these will come in handy.

Le Slouch

2008-09-06T13:01:00.007+01:00

Well I finished Le Slouch - I love the Seed Stitch :)

But im unhappy about how it tuned out, as i dont like the little peaks it made on the top.

The decrease pattern was in 6 sections. I think im going to try again, and move down to 5 sections to see if this will sit flatter.

Carols Birthday Presie - Hammock Bracelet

2008-08-30T18:49:00.005+01:00

Its was my sisters birthday on the 29th of August, and she had asked me to make her something.

I finished it for her in pleanty of time, which is a suprise for me, as im normally awful at remembering peoples birthdays.

I just hope she likes it.

BubbleGum Visor - Ski or Snowboarding Visor Headwarmer

2008-08-28T21:13:00.005+01:00

Bubble Gum Visor - Available On Etsy

To use up the remaining Bubble Gum Yarn, I knocked up a Headwarmer Visor.

I have been wanting one of these personally since the last snowboarding trip.

I tend to over heat when boarding in good weather, so a visor is ideal to keep the body temprature down, keep your eyes sheilded and keep your hair off your face.

I was thinking of writing this pattern up - Post a comment if you would be interested in having it.

Red Buttoned Beanie - Banana Republic Knockoff

2008-08-27T18:57:00.005+01:00

Available on ETSY

I have been trying out different styles with this chunky yarn I have.

I found the pattern for the Banana Republic Knockoff on Ravelry and thought it might look nice. I followed the pattern for the idea, but the gague of the yarn was vastly different, so I had to cast on a different amount of stitches.

I made this while on my first long weekend in Cornwall.

I did no kniting crocheting or crafing what so ever on the second long weekend in Cornwall. Mostly walking and sight seeing with my other sister Vicky.

Bubblegum Beanie - and the - Soft Purple Beanie

2008-08-13T20:34:00.009+01:00

I have been playing around with my chunky beanie hats, and have made 2 more.

The bubblegum beanie was knit for the purl side out, with a 1x1 rib to finish. I used some Rowan Spray i have had in my stash for ages, and it looks really nice. The white parts of the yarn is really white, and contrasts with the pink spray nicely.

I also created the Soft Purple Beanie from some Acrylic i have got in my stash. I have a lot of this yarn in a few colour ways. Its really soft :)

I knitted this one with a large perl band to finish the hat. But having worn it, i do like it the other way out too!! Looks like a cup cake i think!!

Anyway, I have put these on to my etsy shop if any one is interested. :p

I really do take a bad photo!!

Lemon and Lime - Pearl Beanie - like Topshop

2008-08-09T20:21:00.007+01:00

I saw the Topshop Extra Chunky Hat while googling for ideas for a new hat. I really liked it and I have been harbouring some rowan big wool fusion in my stash for some time.

I kitted it top down on two 12mm circs!! Now theres some big needles. I cast off with a 19mm. I was quite lucky to have such broom handles in my collection.

Here is how it turned out. The perl side is really nice, but the knit side is nice too. So I have myself a reversible beanie. 2 looks for the price of one.

I only needed 50g a hat, so I managed to make 2 out of the ball.

One has now been listed on my etsy store, so if you want a really snugly new hat, you know where to find one.

Fad Classic - FO

2008-08-07T20:28:00.005+01:00

I have finally Fished - Fad Classic
If you remember back in May, I spent my Birthday money from my mother on the pattern and the cotton.

I have been knitting this slowly on my journeys too and from work.

Im quite happy with it, it feels really nice and soft. Its quite heavy and chunky, but in a nice way.

The only thing is, the weather is so hot and humid here at the moment, I cant bear to wear it. But im sure all that will change soon :(

I have had such a busy week. In the space of 7 days, I have booked 2 snowboarding holidays, 2 weekends away, a day Sphereing and a day out at Go Ape high rope assault course.

The first of the adventure is next weekend so I cant wait :)

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/sianabanana/fad-classic

Hammock Bracelet - Beaded Crochet Rope + Freeform Crochet Bracelet

2008-07-26T15:36:00.017+01:00

I wanted to experiment with a crochet beaded rope, and after a few tries, and tearing my hair out, it finally clicked and I got going with it.

I wanted to make this one in to a bracelet, but thougth that the crochet rope all around the wrist would be too bulky and uncomfortable for wearing in the day. So i made a freeform crochet peice to sit accross the back of the wrist. This bit looks like a hammock hence the name.

Im really pleased with this peice and think it looks funky.

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/sianabanana/hammock-bracelet

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13696418

Pineapple Cuff - Size M - Orange and Blue

2008-07-20T01:00:00.005+01:00

Looking through the collection of random colours that were sent to me from my ebay freebie, I saw that this orange colour matched some beads I had previously purchased. So wanting to try out the new crochet cotton, i thought i would re make the pineapple cuff in a smaller size.

The colours are a bit vivid, and to be honest, I hadnt imagined that it would look like it does. But the more i look at it, the more i think its pretty funky.

As for the crochet cotton, i do love it, It is much more delicate than the thicker stuff that i have been using previously, but not too thin that it is hard to work.

You may have noticed my etsy link on my blog now. I didnt intend to do this, but was bored this morning and thought i would talk a look around etsy. I listed 2 items, this one included. My thought was, that as it cost so little to list and the listings stay in place for 4 months, i might as well give it a try.

We will see what happens with it.

Freeform Crochet Choker

2008-07-18T21:44:00.016+01:00

I bought some anchor crochet cotton from ebay earlier this year, not knowing what kind of threads would work best for crochet jewellry.

When It arrived, i was quite suprised of the texture of it, and was aprehensive about how things would turn out.

Here is the first peice I have made with it.

I wanted to make a necklace of sorts as I have made a lot of cuffs and bracelets so far.

I didnt know how this one would turn out and didnt have a set plan. After a few retrys half way in, I finally got it to lay flat.

Once I had made it, I realised that it would sit nicer on this metal choker that i had got in a jewelry beading kit.

For crochet jewelry, so far, I have tried out the follwoing threads

3 ply cotton - ver soft and floppy.
DMC 6 strand embroidery floss - lovely sheen but harder to work with as its stranded - but benifit is that you can make it thinner if needs be.
Torcal by Circulo - Size Perle#5 - I do like this, but sometimes i find its not dainty enough when i need it to be.

I have just acquired some Ruby by Circulo - Crochet #20Perle #8 - from ebay. I got 10 balls for free!! Ebay were doing a special promotion the other day where they gave you a free £5 to spend on ebay including postage. I managed to buy these 10 balls for £4.99 total. So thank you to ebay and paypal for my gift.

I will be trying something out to see how they work next.

Update on my sewing machine... I have made a knitting needle roll for my straight needles. I need to finish it off with something to close it. The machine was sooooo much better to use than my old one. Now all i need to worry about is my sewing construction rather than working the machine.

Janome 8077 - Making room on my desk!!

2008-07-14T21:07:00.007+01:00

Thanks to my lovely sister Carol aka Taylor's Textile Trials, I am now the proud owner of a new Janome 8077!! My sister is a fab textile fiber artist and knows a thing or 2 about sewing machines, and she took me to her lockal sewing machine shop in swansea (Cliffords Sewing Machines Ltd). I have to say thank you to Mike who gave me a great demo and also a discount!! :)

My mother gave me an old sewing machine some years ago, but over time, and much struggle with it, i gave up trying to do projects on it as it always messed up the work. My knitting and crochet rolls are good examples of the machines bad work. I gave up sewing on it at that point as it was just so hard do use.

I am now really excited about finishing off my other rolls I need to make - one for my straight needles and one for my DPN's. After that, I will have to see what else i come up with, as i better use it now i spent all this money!!

Also, another present (to myself) that came in the post today :) my bead organisers. Since i needed to make room on my desk for my new machine, I needed a secure location for my beads. I found these on ebay, and they came all the way from america. Mini tic tac boxes in a storage box. I have filled 2 boxes alread!! only another 3 more to go.

Lastly, a quick update on the garden. I have loads of tomatoes now, they just need to ripen up. Im so impatient though, just cant help checking everyday to see if they are ready!! Also, my first courgette and cucumber have doubled in size over the last few days. I have 2 peppers also getting quite big, maybe 1/4 size right now. What can i say about my sole runner bean plant!! It HAD black fly. I say had as they had a fight with a water pistol and soapy water, and now they have gone!! But i cant stop itching, so maybe they have jumped on me!! lol

Cross Leaf Freeform Crochet Cuff

2008-07-09T20:12:00.005+01:00

I have been looking at some irish crochet online, and loved the texture of the irish leaf design. I had a few go's at this one before i decided on my shape, then I built it up. Im quite pleased with it as I love the texture of the layers.

Crown Freeform Crochet Cuff

2008-07-09T20:08:00.007+01:00

I had an idea in my head about this one, but I just cant finish it.

I think i dont have the right colour to contrast it, and will get on and order some different tones to see what goes.

Pink Pineapple Cuff

2008-06-30T22:27:00.009+01:00

I saw this pattern a little while ago, and thought it might make a nice cuff.

I am quite pleased how the central lace design has worked with the beads.

The length is a little bit too long mind, and if i make this again, i think i would take out a row or 2 from the beginning and end to try and shorten the motif.

How my garden grows....

2008-06-27T18:11:00.012+01:00

OMG, im so excited, i actually have 2 cucumber fruit and loads of tomatoes!!!! I found them this moring.

Unfortunately, i cant really say that my strawberry plant is doing so great!! With one solitary strawberry on it!!

Thankfully, Im seeing my mum later, who will have some strawberries from my dads garden, so I can have some of those!! :)

The DNA Cuff

2008-06-25T22:55:00.005+01:00

Tony named this one!! I followed a bookmark pattern i found on ravelry.

I have just been looking for stitch combinations really, and how to layer things up on each other, what goes well with what etc.

Having done these few projects, i have a few ideas in my head now. I think maybe a variation on the butterfly, with a different center. Not sure how this will unfold yet, will have to wait and see.

As for this peice , I wish i had layered my colour combinations differently. When i choose the colours they looked much better than now when i look at the peice. Also, i choose beads to go with it, but they are too subtle, and just fade away. They give a good glittery kinda look when its on, but from the photos you can hardly tell they are there.

Oh well, on to the next one.

I added beads....

2008-06-22T21:13:00.004+01:00

Well 2 people told me it wasnt finished, so i went out on a shopping spree. I got loads of beads.

I finished it off with some beads ..

Butterfly Cuff

2008-06-22T12:34:00.014+01:00

Well im on a crochet mission. My knitting has been put on hold and I am finally using my colourful Perle that i bought.

Its from Yarnstick and it was 70p a ball. I got 12 for under a tenner with postage. I thought that was quite good.

The pattern I found while searching Ravelry from freebies - here is the page.

As you can see I didnt make the little butterfly head, and i just went freefrom for the clasp. I used the pattern just for the wings.

Tony seems to think that this one isnt done yet. He thinks the central peice is missing something, maybe some beads ? But im not adding a little butterfly head and antena!!

Blue Green and Red Beaded Crochet Cuff

2008-06-22T00:07:00.005+01:00

Well I didnt intend on finishing this one so quickly.

It is made from Torcal Perle and I used up the last of my red beads. The beads cost me 99p at Hobby Craft - so that worked out at 33p of beads per cuff/bracelet.

I just did some free form and tried to keep it symetrical as i went.

Im quite pleased with it. Im suprised I have managed to be so productive with my stinking cold. :( boo hoo.

Garden Cam

2008-06-21T17:38:00.004+01:00

Im busy setting up garden cam at the moment.

The image on the left is a live image from my web cam, between 9 - 5 Mon - Fri UTC.

The rest of the time this is a static image of the garden cam.

I thought best to knock the camera off over the weekend as the kids are about.

Camo Crochet Bracelet

2008-06-21T17:05:00.003+01:00

Having made the bracelet for Carol the other week, I thought I should get on with it and make one for myself. It took me much longer to make this one, but I did only do about 1 motif a night.

I am quite pleased with it. I used some 3 ply camo coloured cotton I got from ebay.

Carols Beaded Crochet Cuff

2008-06-08T22:54:00.007+01:00

I started this on Friday night, I was itching to finish it off, so on Saturday so when i woke up, I started straight away. I got to about a motif and a half before where I wanted to stop, and I ran out of my contrasting colour. Since i couldn't be bothered to go shopping again, I thought I would rip it back and just take out some of the stitches in the to make the yarn go further.

Having spent until lunch time re doing the night before's progress, I took a break for lunch. This is when i realised that it was a glorious day and was far too nice to be sat indoors.

Tony had got the new pool out, and we filled it up. It is huge - I even managed to fit my lilo in it.
Consequently, I spent the rest of Saturday and most of Sunday messing around in it.

Sunday was a really nice day, I spent the moring finishing off the cuff, then I prepared the food in the garden, and had a barbeque. :)

So to the cuff, here you are then. Like the previous one i made, I used the Queen Anne motif. I added beads to the st loops and went over with st highlight at the end. I managed to make the contrasting colour last for 11 motifs :) but not enought to finish the clasp I made, so as you can see, that is edged in the sliver colour.

I thought for a while about how to make a clasp for this. I didnt want to make one that you tie as I know how hard that is when you are trying to put it on by yourself. Also, I wanted to make it adjustable.

I found a clear button and attached it to one end. I thought of threading a length of cotton from the button end, through the first motif and then back to the button. I put a circular motif on the end of the thread, so that it didnt pull out when you put your hand through. My idea was, that when you put it on, you pull the thread and then wind it around the button. This worked ok, but having worn it for a couple of minutes, the thread started to unwind. Then I realised, that if I had made my circular motif a bit bigger in the middle, it would have fitted over the button. So i cut it off and re made it.

So now, the cuff is ajustable. You put it on, pull the cord, wind it to fit, and put the clasp over the button.

I was so pleased with my peice, I didnt really want to send it off to my sister!! I thought I would package it put right away otherwise I might conveniently forget. Tony posted it right away for me, on his way to the shops.

Finally, I have to say thank you again to Leslie for giving me the idea in the first place.

Crochet Cuff

2008-06-07T12:04:00.007+01:00

When i made my last crochet cuffs, my sister asked me to make her one.

Well I didnt think that much of the ones I had made, I was more messing around than making something nice. Practicing stitches etc. The yarn i used was acrylic and not so great either.

Now summer is hear and weather is warmer, I dont think you would want the ones I have made on your wrist.

But, I havent given up..... I have been looking around the net and I manage to bump in to this lovely lady.... WoolMountain - I had saw her free form cuffs on Etsy previously. Leslie has given me loads of advice and i have been trying to take it all in. I thought i would start with what i liked in the first place - Queen Anne Lace design.

Here is what I did.

The actual peice is too big for my wrist. I miss judged it - and now cant be bothered to take one of the motifs out.

One of the reasons for me not bothering to do this was because I only had this yarn here and I knew it wasnt going to be suitable, but I was itching to give it a go.

I feel like a bit of a copy cat, trying to copy what Leslie has been doing, but I just love what she has done so much, I couldnt help wanting to give it a go myself.

I went shopping yesterday to try and find some nice crochet cotton, but there is a distinct lack of it around here. So I held off and am trying to find something online that might go better.

When i was shopping I did manage to pick up a bargain for my stash -

.99p each.

I can see something good coming from this later!

I also picked up some DMC thread - like you would use for cross stitch. I thought, with the lack of crochet cotton, i would just try with this for now. That way, i could try different thicknesses to see what i liked. Looking online I have been quite confused with the crochet cotton weights and just didnt know what they would be like to work with. Working with these DMC threads, Im starting to get an idea of the weight I want for my projects.

So back to what I was saying in the beginning - My sister wanted something - Well here is a sneek peak of what i picked up. Im half way through and Im not going to show you until I have finished. So when you read this carol, you will just have to wait and see!

Stripy Tundra Hat

2008-05-28T23:23:00.013+01:00

So yes, I did re make it - when I have something in my head, I just cant leave it be.

Even though, i have had to put my knitting of Fad Classic on hold for it!! Which is nuts, as I am not going to wear this for ages yet!!

Anyway, i did re do it - I wanted make something different so I went for stripy.

I did start to think about experimenting with something other than stockinette, but I wimped out!! Next time - i promise! Actually, I have a borrowed idea up my sleeve, so we will see how that turns out later on.

Here it is then.....

I need to finish it off with some icords and pom poms - as i think these are a must have!! I have been having great fun with the original hat, swinging them around!!

As for the learned lessons - i didn't use the double twisted cast on - i used the knitting on cast on - the way my mother taught me!! and this was better i think - there wasn't as much slack as there was with the double twisted. I did start casting on with the cable cast on - but this felt so rigid. I don't know if its my tension, but the hat looked tiny because there was no give between the stitches. I took them out - I had only done 10 or so, and started again.

I knitted it in the round as i did before, listening to some advice I found online about trying to avoid the colour jog. This worked for most rows, some rows you can see a bit.

When it came to decreasing - i started decreasing a whole inch earlier. I also divided up my decreases with more stitches in the front and back, and less on the sides. I didn't start decreasing the front until after 10 sets (1 row decrease - 1 row plain) of decreases. I don't know if you can see from the pictures, the hat started to get a tent like shape - then I began decreasing the front and back to begin to finish off the hat.

I finished with 2 stitches each side and 6 stitches front and back. I used the 3 needle bind off to finish. This has given me this little sticky up bit at the back - to a sort of point, and i think its quite cute.

Anyway, must go finish the icords now so I can put this one to bed!

Addition .....

I just finished the I cords and bobbles - so here are a few pics

Birthday Money

2008-05-17T11:36:00.006+01:00

So what else am I up to...

It was my birthday recently and my mam gave me some money. I bought some cotton yarn to try and make this - http://www.knitandtonic.net/knitandtonic/2006/04/fadclassic.html Fad Classic by Wedny Bernard. I got Patons Leila DK 100% cotton, which should cover the pattern and much to spare.

I thought i would do the right thing on this one and knit up a test swatch to check the gague.

Here is where I am so far..

It looks like its going to knit up small to me, but i will finish the swatch and measure it.

Tundra Hat

2008-05-17T11:01:00.012+01:00

Now I know that winter is over, but I saw this hat on another blog and I thought if I dont make it now I will forget about it. Plus, I have been looking for a good reliable hat pattern, and this hat was kind of what I had in my minds eye.

Here is what I saw. http://knittyinpink.blogspot.com/2007/11/glam-rock-ski-hat-aka-vinces-tundra-hat.html It was a take off, from a hat on the Mighty Bosh, wich a few people were making, but I loved the style of the crown and the long ear flaps. I thought - perfect!!

Knitty had also posted a PDF of what she did, so I followed that.

The wool she used is recommended to be knit on a 6mm needled, but her pattern notes stated that she had knitted on 4.5mm needles. She also stated that the hat made was purposely large. So with that in mind, and also only having DK yarn, I thought that if i knitted on a 4.5mm needle also, the hat might turn out the right sort of size. This was a guess, and didnt bother with a swatch. I thought i would be able to tell quite quickly if it was drastically out, as I started on the earflaps first, and they would have been to the wrong scale if the yarn and needle size didnt suit.

So I knitted it up fairly quickly, just taking my time as I know that I wont wear this untill later on this year! Here is how it turned out.

I am really happy with this hat, it fits, slightly over sized, which is good for when im snowboarding as it will need to accomodate my goggles, and also be easy to take on and off without messing my hair up!!

The earflaps are the perfect length - I think i will be quite cozy in this one.

The weight of the hat, and thickness of the knit - about spot on for what i want to use it for. I already know that the yarn will be mega warm, as this is the same yarn i used for the aphrodite jumper.

Some points to note - this was the first time i used the double backward loop method for casting on. I think this possibly was a mistake for me, as the edge then became quite loose. As you can see from the pictures, where i crocheted over the edges, they are still puckering out a bit.

Also, the earflaps still curling a bit, but the crochet edge has helped a lot to stablize them.

The only other thing I might want to try again on this hat is the crown. I do like it, but mine doesnt seem quite the same as the one on knittys site. Now this could quite well be because i used a different weight yarn and therefore knitted up smaller. If you compare my hat to knittys, the crown shaping is quite a bit longer and kind of frames the crown up to a point. where mine just neatly nips in and blends in to a round head!!

I think if i was to redo this, I would think about adjusting the increases and decreses - maybe start earlier and even not work in a square decrease but maybe a oblong one to make the side panels smaller than the top and bottom panels. Now if that didnt make sense to anyone else, it did to me!!

Crochet Hook Roll

2008-04-22T22:34:00.003+01:00

Finally got round to making the matching crochet hook roll that i have been meaning to make for ages.

Found a lovely tutorial ... http://www.joleo.co.uk/todayweare/?p=176 to give me guidance.

I had enough material left to make this one so now i have a matching crochet hook roll and circular kneedle roll.

This time, i added bondaweb between the interlining - and also added vilene interfacing between the pocket material to give this more substance.

What a difference it makes, this one is so much stiffer.

Here are the pics....

Hols

2008-04-12T20:50:00.018+01:00

So this is where i was when i was knitting....

Well no, i wasnt literaly knitting at the time.

I had a really good time, I was much better at snowboarding than the first time I went. But It was hard work on the old lower leg muscles.

We had really good snow conditions and even managed to get up to the glacier at 3250m! Thank god for lifts because i dont think i could have walked it.

This was the shot at the top of the glacier and the snow was just un groomed fresh powder. It was a great feeling to ride on, but just dont stop or you sink up to your knees and cant get up!!

The last shot .. Mont Blanc from the plane home!!

Cuffs

2008-04-12T16:50:00.006+01:00

Just came back from Snowboarding and this is what i made on the aeroplane on the way out.

- I just wanted to take something small and non offensive to the aeroplane people so i just took a crochet hook and a small ball of left over yarn.

I didnt really intend on making anything, it was more about playing with stitches, but found myself making the cuff.

I put it on then and barely took it off the whole time. It is a little bit worn and fluffy now from getting wet and battered about.

I have worn it in the office a bit too - it helps me cope with the air conditioning!! Seriously - I do get quite cold hands and feet - Bad circulation. So it has been helping a little to keep them toasty.

This morning, after finishing off the darning of ends on the Aphrodite Jumper, I used the odds and ends to make this cuff. With insporation from - http://www.moonarts.com/blog/free_patterns/pages/crochet-bracelet-print.htm I made this cuff using double crochet - half trebles and treble crochet. (or sc hdc and dc in the US pattern)

Aphrodite Jumper - Gone Wrong

2008-04-12T16:11:00.016+01:00

Since learning to knit and crochet, I have been looking forward to making something that i could wear that wasn't an accessory. Also with the cold weather at the moment, and the over efficient air conditioning in our office, I wanted to make a jumper or cardigan.

As i was looking through patterns on the net, i found this pattern that i loved the look of.

http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/aphrodite/aphrodite.html

I knew i wouldn't buy the yarn that it suggested- if i could get it in the UK it would cost over £45 for the amount the suggested. Also being my first time and knowing my past efforts at sewing, i thought that i might screw it up and be a big waste of money.

So i thought i would just give it a try in some cheap acrylic wool i found. - This stuff was £1 per 100g from Buyology - James C Brett - Top Value Double Knitting. Actually, its the best quality cheap yarn i have found to date. It feels quite soft and was much nicer to work with than the other cheap yarns i have bought. I bought it to make more hats and stuff, but I thought i would give it a try for this project.

I followed the pattern, and made up both sides and seamed them together as instructed.

Here is one side -

It looks quite nice - but once the two sides were seamed together, the ruffly bottom was so large - It just looked wrong.

I didn't really know what to do, as the ruffly bit was at the bottom and i had knitted so much after this - i thought i was going to have to undo it all or throw it in the bin.

Thankfully, i decided to undo where i had joined to the center band, and one by one undo the stitches and put the center band on to circular needles.

I then decided that this wasn't the wool for something so fancy, and it didn't really work. I'm sure the yarn they suggested would have hung better and therefore looked better, but this yarn was not suited. So i thought i would just go plain - i knitted from the bust down to the waist on circulars and switching to a rib in the contrasting colour to finish off.

All in all a learning project really for me. I probably wont have the guts to wear it, but i learned loads about reading patterns and what things work and don't with this yarn.

In the end I used less than 100g of the Turquoise and i think just over 100g of the lime. I had spare wool left over after ripping out the bottom of the jumper.

With some of the bits of yarn left over i made a crochet cuff as you can see in one of the photos.

Circular needle roll

2008-03-25T21:48:00.017Z

I have wanted to make something to keep all my tools in since my sister made me my bagsket.

I got her to go to the place she got the material from and get me some more so that they would match. She also sent me some lining and some curtain interlining. What a lovely sister i have.

I thought I would start with a circular needle roll as they are the biggest pain and the biggest challenge in making the roll.

My sis pointed out this blog to look at, and low and behold this lady had made one of her own. It was just as I wanted. So I copied it.

The one on chocolateachuva’s blog has 12 pockets – 6 rows.

I currently have the following circs –

Even though what I have would fit in the 12 pockets – I wanted to leave some space just in case I got some more to fill in the gaps. So my pattern was for 7 columns - 14 pockets.

I decided that a pocket of 8cm wide and 13cm deep was enough to hold them.

This is the template I followed

I actually didn’t follow this exact template – I allowed less of a seem allowance, but found it difficult at times, especially as my cutting out wasn’t great – so I have added a bigger seam allowance to the above template to be sure.

I stuck lots of pieces of A4 together and cut out the above templates. If you are lazy like me – start with the biggest and you can keep cutting it down.

After cutting out all my pieces, I started by making the hems on the pockets.

For both pockets – I folded 1cm over and iron flat, then folded another cm over and iron flat – on the long edge.

This has now made the pocket 14cm x 58cm – the pocket will be 13 cm in total – the left over 1cm is for the bottom seem allowance.

I pinned this down and then sewed it down with a straight stitch.

After doing this for both pockets, I went on to pin the 3 main layers of the roll together. The outer , then the inner curtain interlining and finally the lining. The interlining and the lining are the same size and I started by pinning these flush together. Then I laid this on top of the outer layer and left a 2cm margin on all sides.

My sister suggested to use webbing to stick all these pieces together to avoid movement when sewing. I didn’t do this as I didn’t really want to wait more days and go to the shops. When I have something in my head, I just have to do it. But in hindsight, this would be a good plan, as this would keep it nice and flat and together when doing the rest of the stitching.

Next I took out the tape measure and marked the lining with the following measurements – on both sides.
– 1cm for hem
– 8cm for beginning of hem for 2nd row
– 9cm for beginning of 2nd row of pockets
– 14 cm for top of first pocket
– 22cm for top of 2nd pocket
I marked mine in pen as this was hidden later in the hem.

Next I pinned the middle pocket so that the top hemmed edge meets the mark I made at 22cm. I pinned it down entirely and make a straight stitch straight across at the 9cm mark - this leaves a 1cm hem below.

Next I layered the next pocket on- this sits flush with the bottom edge of the lining – and pinned it down.

Then I got the tape measure out again and made vertical pins at 8cm intervals (minus the 1cm each side for the seam. This showed me where to sew the pockets.

I re measured at several intervals to make sure that my pinned lines were straight and even from top to bottom and from left to right.

Then I sewed down these lines. From the top of the middle pocket down to the bottom edge. I left either side of the pockets and sewed these up later.

Next – I folded down 1cm of the outer material and ironed flat, and then folded over again for 1 cm and ironed that flat. This takes the outer material over the inner material by 1 cm making a nice seam – I sewed this all down with a machined straight stitch.

The only things left now are for the buttons to close it up – I tore my hair out for about 5 minutes thinking of what I could use to do this. Was thinking about plaiting some wool or something – but then I remembered I had bought some new hair bands and they were brown. So I used them. I measured out where they would need to go before sewing down the left hand seam. I placed them inside the seam (with the metal bit of the hair band inside the seam) and sewed them in.

Then for the next 10 minutes I was hunting around the house for 2 matching and somewhat related buttons to add on. Thankfully I had some spare off a coat that looked ok and I sewed them on.

It didn’t take to long to do – couple of hours. It took just as much time I think to sort out all the needles and put them in.

It’s not perfect – my machine sewing technique has never been the neatest. But it wasn’t a bad effort for me. :)

Thank you carol for being my material shopper and general question answerer. :)

Vicky's birthday present

2008-03-14T18:14:00.005Z

Since I didnt know what to get my sis for her birthday, i thought i would make her something. I thought i better not make her something that she would have to wear in public, so i decided to make her some slippers.

I was going to follow the following pattern - http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/visoppskrift.php?d_nr=98&d_id=25&lang=en

But after about 2 rows I went off on my own.

I had 2 balls of the same wool - one in pink and one in brown, so i thought i would use this. I knew that i woulnt have enough to make a pair in the same colour, so i made the soles in the dark colour, and the rest in the pink colour.

I just spoke to my sister who was pleased with them, more as a comedy item than slippers really. Some of her describing words were - foot mittens, oven socks, adult baby booties, and just weird!! :)

So it was a good job i didnt make her anything that she would have to wear in public.

Gloves to Match

2008-03-08T14:45:00.006Z

Its been so cold this winter, or maybe its me being a wuss. I decided to make some gloves out of the same yarn as i used for the baseball hat. They are fingerless gloves - with a mitt.

I think my sister vicky had some of these when we were kids but they had multicoloured fingers!!

I followed this pattern - http://www.crochetandknitting.com/mittglov.htm but really only roughly. I used a different hook size so i knew i was going to have to scale them up a bit. I just followed it for the gist of the pattern.

Note To Self - things i realised during and after making the second glove

- if you make changes to the pattern, write it down, as you have to then try and make the second one the same!!

- dont pick up extra crochet stitches between the fingers - they can get too bulky.

Baseball Hat

2008-03-01T20:59:00.006Z

I have been wanting one of these for ages, but havent ever bought one. So now that i am making hats i thought i would have a go making one. There is no stiffener in the rim, but i dont think it needs it.

I found the pattern here - http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/visoppskrift.php?d_nr=107&d_id=37&lang=en

The pink thread running through was my round marker, but i actually quite like it, so i have left it in. I might take it out later, or maybe add to it.

Another Hat for Tony

2008-03-01T20:53:00.007Z

My sister sent me some yarn that she saw going cheap and Tony liked the colour of one of tha balls so he wanted a new hat made from that. I crocheted this one in rounds rather than spirals.

Its Treble Crochet.

He wanted it to have ears, but i didnt want it to be too girly so i made it in to a sort of helmet shape.

The Snowboard Hat Take 2 - To match my jacket

2008-02-26T22:46:00.008Z

So, after the original hat getting a bit wet in the snow in France, and subsequent washing, the hat grew a bit and the holes in the crochet were a bit larger than i hoped for. Also after trialing my new hat with my new glasses/goggles combination, the arms of my glasses were raising up the earflaps. So with this experience i realised i needed some longer ear flaps to keep out the cold when wearing my sunglasses. Also going up in the chair lift was a little cold so felt like i wanted something to wrap me up. So i decided to remake the hat with 2 things in mind. Bigger ear flaps, and a smaller crochet hook.

This is what i got...

I am fairly pleased with it. But i ran out of the brown wool just before the earflaps, i wanted the body of the earflap to be in the brown with a pink edging, but i guess it doesnt really detract from it.

As i was making the earflaps, i decided to put a button on it so i could do it up under my chin. I might look a fool, but i will be a warm fool!!

Also the crochet is quite tight, maybe a bit too tight, so on the first wash, maybe this will settle to be what i was hoping for.

One more thing - i want to introduce Fred the Head, my recent ebay purchase. He has been great when making the hats as he is a touch smaller than my head, so what ever fits on him will be snug on me, which is good as you need a bit of stretch to keep the hat on. The other thing is that it is great to be able to see the hat on at different points to see the shape and how it is going, eg for increasing or decreasing.

So now that im sorted, my big sis can have the first one i made!! :)

Ellies Hat

2008-02-16T22:59:00.005Z

After a request from my sister, I made my neice this hat.

Its a crochet Spiral hat in DK pink and Purple on a 4.5mm hook.

I just hope it fits now.

Ski Hat

2008-02-16T19:06:00.004Z

A friend of mine, who was intriqued by my speed crochet on the car journey, asked me if i could make him a hat to match his ski boots.

I made this.

I knitted this one top down. Which was ok, but hard work to do on the DPNs. The reason i wanted to do this one top down was so that i could work out the size better on the fly, rather than having to cast on the right amount of stitches. This would have been ok, except as the hat grew, I still wasnt able to try the hat on as the circular needles were too small to fit it on my head. I should have really changed over to the DPNs again to do this.

Thist wasnt my best effort at a hat, and might make it again later to do a better job of it.

Geneva Hat

2008-02-16T18:57:00.005Z

So the snowboarding trip....

I wanted to take something with me but was concerned that i couldnt take knitting needles on the flight. So i decided to take my crochet hooks.

Having bought this 5og ball of ribbon big wool that was reduced to clear, i thought i would just take that and a really big crochet hook. That way it would be so big it coulnt offend the airport people.

As it happened i didnt start my crochet on the plane. But when we got the hire cars at Geneva airport, i thought i would start then. I am really not a good passenger in cars, especially when i am not farmiliar with the roads, so i thought it best to concentrate on my crochet and not look at the road.

By the time we arrived, i had crocheted the entire body of the hat (except for the ear flaps). This was a 1hr and 1/2 drive and the big wool was a breeze to crochet, even with the ribbon in it.

I managed to finish off the hat on my second night of the trip. Around the open fire!! I was very chuffed when the 50g ball managed to make the entire hat, ear flaps and plaited strings - with no spare wool at all.

I wore this hat the most on the trip as it covered my ears better when i had my goggles/glasses on, and was able to hold on to the strings when we were on the chilly chair lifts!!

Ps, i did mean to add the bump to the top of this hat. I liked the pointy shape.

Tonys Snowboarding Hat

2008-02-16T18:55:00.005Z

Following the success of my Snowboarding hat, i had to make this one for Tony.

This was knitted on 5mm circular needles. Using the DK yarn again doubled up.

Snowboarding Hat

2008-02-16T18:52:00.006Z

So i wanted to make a hat to match my snow jacket. I saw a pic of a hat online that i liked (http://www.woollywormhead.co.uk/USERIMAGES/SLimePinkBobbleHat.JPG) so I wanted to make one like this. My jacket is Pink and Brown so I tried to get colours to match. It was quite difficult to do this but the colours I found were not too bad.
Having spoke to a few people on the http://www.crochetville.org/ forum they informed me that this was just single crochet. They also gave me the advice to start from the top and work down.

So thats what i did.

The pictures were taken after the first wash. and the hat stretched a bit after that. I am fairly happy with the hat, but i think i will use a smaller crochet hook for the next one. The size recommended by the yarn was 5mm. but as you can see, the stiches are not too tight, and i think i would have liked it a bit tighter.
But all in all, i didnt think this was a bad first effort.

1st Crochet Hat

2008-02-16T18:39:00.008Z

My sister gave me some knitting and crochet stuff for christmas, so after my first two knitted hats i thought i would give the crochet hooks a chance.

I followed some patterns and info from the net and came up with this one.

Cochet was tough to start. It was really confusing when the spiral was small, but as it grew, i just flew along. I think this hat took about 4 hrs to finish in total. Coupled with the fact that i didnt have to worry about dropping stitches, and also being able to try on my hat as i went for size, i was very happy with my first attempt at crochet.

Made from
33g (approx) of black DK wool
33g (approx) of pink DK wool
with 3.5mm crochet hook.

Hat Take 2

2008-02-16T18:27:00.008Z

So i tried to rectify what i did wrong with the other hat. I made this one on circular needles size 5mm. I cast on more stitches and i made sure i reduced the number of stitches for the ribbing.

This time the ribbing was spot on really, but i think the hat was a little too big, not by much but maybe by 1 inch around.

Made from

33g (approx) of black DK wool
33g (approx) of pink DK wool
On 5mm circular needles.

Hat No 1

2008-02-16T18:03:00.011Z

So this was hat number 1. I bought one like this a long time ago and lost it, so this was to replace it.

Unfortunately, i did not reduce the number of stitches on the bottom rib and as you can see in the image the rib wants to turn up. It looks ok turned up but this was not what i was aiming for. I think it was a little small and maybe the kneedles used were a little too small also. I think that i could have atleast gone up to a 4.5 mm considering i was doubling up the yarn.

Made from

33g (approx) of black DK wool

33g (approx) of red DK wool

On 4mm straight needles.

I made the peice flat and seemd up the back.